Archive for May, 2009
An important question for any artist is: How can I built a career and simultaneously be true to myself? It’s an important question, and during the twenty years I’ve taught writing, hundreds of students have expressed the belief that success and personal integrity are mutually exclusive.
The Lifewriting
An important question for any artist is: How can I built a career and simultaneously be true to myself? It’s an important question, and during the twenty years I’ve taught writing, hundreds of students have expressed the belief that success and personal integrity are mutually exclusive.
The Lifewriting
Writing for some people is the toughest job you can ever ask them to do yet given the right write tools and circumstances anyone can actually write high quality articles with a little bit of work and practice. There are in fact seven tools every writer actually needs regardless of whether they are writing a novel, a science document, a University assignment, a web article or journal for the local paper. Without these tools you will find it very difficult to succeed.
Tool #1 - Book and Pencil
The Book and Pencil is one of the most important tools you will ever use. I carry a book and pencil where ever I go so that I do not miss out on the ideas I have, words that I have heard and the visuals in front of me. The key advantage of the book and pencil is that when you see something or have a good idea, you write it down so you do not forget.
For example, while I was in bed last night I was thinking about a new article that I could write. This article in fact because I wanted to help new writers. The first thing I did was to jot down the title in my book and then the seven tools I believe every writer should have.
I actually have two books I use for writing, a little A6 size pad that fits in my wallet and another journal size A4 book for writing more detailed information. Whenever you a walking around a shopping centre or out to dinner, use the little A6 wallet book to write down words you hear and phrases you see so that you can use those in your writing. Often people you come across from other states or countries will use different phrases to say the same thing, and often those phrases can be sexier than your own and may inspire more readers to read your material.
Tool #2 - Dictionary
No writer can survive without a dictionary. I still have my Macquarie dictionary I got when I was in Grade 2 which is some …(a slight pause here to realise one has gotten old) … 30 plus years ago. However, if you are just starting out there are lots of really cool online dictionaries out there for free now. Alternatively, I also recommend visiting a book fair held by Charity Groups. In Australia, Lifeline holds a book fair every year and you can actually buy bags of books for a dollar and very often they will have a couple of thousand dictionaries there for just $1 which is really cheap.
So, why do we need a dictionary? Actually for two reasons, the first is to make sure we spell the words correctly and for all the techno geeks who say, but the computer can do that, let me inform you, not all words in the electronic dictionaries are correct and there are lots of words that do not exist. The second reason, and this is the most important reason, the dictionary will tell you the meaning of the word, which helps ensure the word you are using is the right one for the context of your article.
Tool #3 - Thesaurus
This is one of the most awesome tools for writers. A thesaurus allows you to look up a word and to find a better word to use than the one you used. So here is a really good exercise. I have used my thesaurus to locate more appropriate words for that previous sentence so here is the result …
The Thesaurus allows you to hunt for those words that are more appropriate and improve the sound of the language in your article.
You will notice that I substituted the word “better” for “improve” and rewrote the statement using words that were descriptive to outline what you were trying to achieve like “hunt”, “more appropriate” and “sound of the language”. When you are writing the thesaurus can be a fantastic and fun tool to help you dramatically improve the language of your documents or articles.
Tool #4 - Digital Recorder
As a writer the digital recorder has become a mainstay of our industry. The digital recorder allows you to simply speak into the recorder and record parts of your article without having to laboriously (notice the use of the descriptive term … my thesaurus is working overtime today) write it down. One thing you might want to consider is purchasing a PDA that includes a digital recorder and the ability to write down notes and take phone calls so that you are not carrying a million and one devices. The new PDA’s I have bought for my team actually have software that is voice activated so that when they have an idea or want to add to a previous message you can do so without having to press any buttons.
Probably the most common profession that uses the digital recorder is the legal profession. My lawyer uses one every single time I go into a meeting to tape his notes and letters I am going to receive and get charged a fortune for.
Tool #5 - A Good Library Of Books
Look the number ONE tool every good writer needs is their own library of books. A good writer will also be a good reader and the more you read the better your writing will become. I now have in-excess of 10,000 books in my collection and growing. My library of books range from fiction to non-fiction, research journals, magazines and much much more and I am building an even bigger video selection as well.
Why?
Well the more exposure you have to the various writing techniques and languages by the citizens of the world and the more refined your own technique will become. Further to that you need to gain a solid understanding of what technique is appropriate for the medium and the audience you are writing for. For example, the style of writing I use for articulating articles for the web will be of a more relaxed nature and more personal than for a document I might be producing for a corporate organisation. To be a really great writer you must be able to be flexible in the style you use dependant on the type of document or article you are writing.
Great writers are not born, they create themselves through practice. When I was at school, even through to high school I was a terrible writer but as I have practiced more and more (with the help of my mum), my writing has improved 100,000 percent and I know the more I write the better I am getting at structuring the article and making it flow and the faster I can write.
The library of books will be a great source for research as it will allow you to see how different writers structure their sentences, the sort of words they use how they describe experiences and use descriptive words like adjectives in their sentences. When you are building your library, do not get caught into the trap of buying just brand new books and to be honest that is an expensive way to start. Like I said before, visit places like the Book Charity Fairs and second hand book dealers and often you will find bags of books for just $1. I recently went to a Lifeline Book Fair and we bought bags of books for $1. The more extensive the library of books you have, with styles from the past and the present, the more effective, fantastic and outstanding your writing will become.
Tool #6 - Quality Music
Everybody has heard of writers block and I am not really sure there is such a thing, but some days I do find it harder to write then others. However, one way I overcome this problem is by listening to music that will help entice the creative element of my brain. The music I have found that is really good for this is baroque music which is played at 60 beats a minute.
Briefly, research shows that baroque music at 60 beats per minute causes your brain to produce more alpha [calmness] waves. This happens on both left and right sides of your brain.
This simply means that you calm down and relax, in a way similar to when you whistle a happy tune, or when you daydream. This “alpha” state of mind is ideal for learning, creativity, or just relaxing. It is used in schools all over Australia. A quote from the teacher of a remedial class here in Australia: “It seems to slow them down so they can think.”
I have seen corporate trainers improve the effectiveness of training sessions dramatically by playing Baroque Music during a session and the creativity really comes to the forefront. A colleague uses the music as background for his memory training seminars and swears by it because recall and creativity are improved.
Tool #7 - A Good Computer
Nobody in the world today can seriously survive a writing career without a good computer. If you are going to be writing professionally for a media house, newspaper or magazine, you will need a good computer as they will not accept your copy without it being in electronic form. Gone are the days where a writer would produce their manuscript in hand written form and send it to their editor. Those days are well and truly over.
On your computer you will require a few pieces of software to make your computer worthwhile. The first thing you will need is an Internet connection, without it you will not be able to email your copy and as I said all media houses, newspapers and magazines today require their writers or journalists to produce electronic copy. You will also need a good word processing software application. If you can afford it, I strongly recommend Microsoft Word 2003 simply because of the quality of the spell checker and built in Thesaurus. I also recommend this version as you can now use the speech recognition software in the application to dictate your article into the computer. Many years ago you had to actually buy third party applications, like Dragon Speak.
The last thing as a writer you will need is a good printer. Do not scrimp on printers, because as a writer you will probably find it is easier to review you work printed out, so buying a cheap printer will normally cost you 3 times as much as a slightly more expensive printer. I recommend to all my clients to buy a laser printer over an ink jet when you are writing as a laser copy is less likely to smudge when you write notes on the copy.
To finish off, writing can really be a really fun and exciting career or simply something to do in your days off, but having the right tools will certainly make life a lot easier for you. Here are the seven tools every writer must have:
Tool #1 - Book and Pencil
Tool #2 - Dictionary
Tool #3 - Thesaurus
Tool #4 - Digital Recorder
Tool #5 - A Good Library Of Books
Tool #6 - Quality Music
Tool #7 - A Good Computer
Writing for some people is the toughest job you can ever ask them to do yet given the right write tools and circumstances anyone can actually write high quality articles with a little bit of work and practice. There are in fact seven tools every writer actually needs regardless of whether they are writing a novel, a science document, a University assignment, a web article or journal for the local paper. Without these tools you will find it very difficult to succeed.
Tool #1 - Book and Pencil
The Book and Pencil is one of the most important tools you will ever use. I carry a book and pencil where ever I go so that I do not miss out on the ideas I have, words that I have heard and the visuals in front of me. The key advantage of the book and pencil is that when you see something or have a good idea, you write it down so you do not forget.
For example, while I was in bed last night I was thinking about a new article that I could write. This article in fact because I wanted to help new writers. The first thing I did was to jot down the title in my book and then the seven tools I believe every writer should have.
I actually have two books I use for writing, a little A6 size pad that fits in my wallet and another journal size A4 book for writing more detailed information. Whenever you a walking around a shopping centre or out to dinner, use the little A6 wallet book to write down words you hear and phrases you see so that you can use those in your writing. Often people you come across from other states or countries will use different phrases to say the same thing, and often those phrases can be sexier than your own and may inspire more readers to read your material.
Tool #2 - Dictionary
No writer can survive without a dictionary. I still have my Macquarie dictionary I got when I was in Grade 2 which is some …(a slight pause here to realise one has gotten old) … 30 plus years ago. However, if you are just starting out there are lots of really cool online dictionaries out there for free now. Alternatively, I also recommend visiting a book fair held by Charity Groups. In Australia, Lifeline holds a book fair every year and you can actually buy bags of books for a dollar and very often they will have a couple of thousand dictionaries there for just $1 which is really cheap.
So, why do we need a dictionary? Actually for two reasons, the first is to make sure we spell the words correctly and for all the techno geeks who say, but the computer can do that, let me inform you, not all words in the electronic dictionaries are correct and there are lots of words that do not exist. The second reason, and this is the most important reason, the dictionary will tell you the meaning of the word, which helps ensure the word you are using is the right one for the context of your article.
Tool #3 - Thesaurus
This is one of the most awesome tools for writers. A thesaurus allows you to look up a word and to find a better word to use than the one you used. So here is a really good exercise. I have used my thesaurus to locate more appropriate words for that previous sentence so here is the result …
The Thesaurus allows you to hunt for those words that are more appropriate and improve the sound of the language in your article.
You will notice that I substituted the word “better” for “improve” and rewrote the statement using words that were descriptive to outline what you were trying to achieve like “hunt”, “more appropriate” and “sound of the language”. When you are writing the thesaurus can be a fantastic and fun tool to help you dramatically improve the language of your documents or articles.
Tool #4 - Digital Recorder
As a writer the digital recorder has become a mainstay of our industry. The digital recorder allows you to simply speak into the recorder and record parts of your article without having to laboriously (notice the use of the descriptive term … my thesaurus is working overtime today) write it down. One thing you might want to consider is purchasing a PDA that includes a digital recorder and the ability to write down notes and take phone calls so that you are not carrying a million and one devices. The new PDA’s I have bought for my team actually have software that is voice activated so that when they have an idea or want to add to a previous message you can do so without having to press any buttons.
Probably the most common profession that uses the digital recorder is the legal profession. My lawyer uses one every single time I go into a meeting to tape his notes and letters I am going to receive and get charged a fortune for.
Tool #5 - A Good Library Of Books
Look the number ONE tool every good writer needs is their own library of books. A good writer will also be a good reader and the more you read the better your writing will become. I now have in-excess of 10,000 books in my collection and growing. My library of books range from fiction to non-fiction, research journals, magazines and much much more and I am building an even bigger video selection as well.
Why?
Well the more exposure you have to the various writing techniques and languages by the citizens of the world and the more refined your own technique will become. Further to that you need to gain a solid understanding of what technique is appropriate for the medium and the audience you are writing for. For example, the style of writing I use for articulating articles for the web will be of a more relaxed nature and more personal than for a document I might be producing for a corporate organisation. To be a really great writer you must be able to be flexible in the style you use dependant on the type of document or article you are writing.
Great writers are not born, they create themselves through practice. When I was at school, even through to high school I was a terrible writer but as I have practiced more and more (with the help of my mum), my writing has improved 100,000 percent and I know the more I write the better I am getting at structuring the article and making it flow and the faster I can write.
The library of books will be a great source for research as it will allow you to see how different writers structure their sentences, the sort of words they use how they describe experiences and use descriptive words like adjectives in their sentences. When you are building your library, do not get caught into the trap of buying just brand new books and to be honest that is an expensive way to start. Like I said before, visit places like the Book Charity Fairs and second hand book dealers and often you will find bags of books for just $1. I recently went to a Lifeline Book Fair and we bought bags of books for $1. The more extensive the library of books you have, with styles from the past and the present, the more effective, fantastic and outstanding your writing will become.
Tool #6 - Quality Music
Everybody has heard of writers block and I am not really sure there is such a thing, but some days I do find it harder to write then others. However, one way I overcome this problem is by listening to music that will help entice the creative element of my brain. The music I have found that is really good for this is baroque music which is played at 60 beats a minute.
Briefly, research shows that baroque music at 60 beats per minute causes your brain to produce more alpha [calmness] waves. This happens on both left and right sides of your brain.
This simply means that you calm down and relax, in a way similar to when you whistle a happy tune, or when you daydream. This “alpha” state of mind is ideal for learning, creativity, or just relaxing. It is used in schools all over Australia. A quote from the teacher of a remedial class here in Australia: “It seems to slow them down so they can think.”
I have seen corporate trainers improve the effectiveness of training sessions dramatically by playing Baroque Music during a session and the creativity really comes to the forefront. A colleague uses the music as background for his memory training seminars and swears by it because recall and creativity are improved.
Tool #7 - A Good Computer
Nobody in the world today can seriously survive a writing career without a good computer. If you are going to be writing professionally for a media house, newspaper or magazine, you will need a good computer as they will not accept your copy without it being in electronic form. Gone are the days where a writer would produce their manuscript in hand written form and send it to their editor. Those days are well and truly over.
On your computer you will require a few pieces of software to make your computer worthwhile. The first thing you will need is an Internet connection, without it you will not be able to email your copy and as I said all media houses, newspapers and magazines today require their writers or journalists to produce electronic copy. You will also need a good word processing software application. If you can afford it, I strongly recommend Microsoft Word 2003 simply because of the quality of the spell checker and built in Thesaurus. I also recommend this version as you can now use the speech recognition software in the application to dictate your article into the computer. Many years ago you had to actually buy third party applications, like Dragon Speak.
The last thing as a writer you will need is a good printer. Do not scrimp on printers, because as a writer you will probably find it is easier to review you work printed out, so buying a cheap printer will normally cost you 3 times as much as a slightly more expensive printer. I recommend to all my clients to buy a laser printer over an ink jet when you are writing as a laser copy is less likely to smudge when you write notes on the copy.
To finish off, writing can really be a really fun and exciting career or simply something to do in your days off, but having the right tools will certainly make life a lot easier for you. Here are the seven tools every writer must have:
Tool #1 - Book and Pencil
Tool #2 - Dictionary
Tool #3 - Thesaurus
Tool #4 - Digital Recorder
Tool #5 - A Good Library Of Books
Tool #6 - Quality Music
Tool #7 - A Good Computer
Studying process involves a lot of written assignments that are usually the deciding points of any course grade. They may be difficult and time-taking but the results you get afterwards are essential both in your academic life and in your future profession regardless the field. Looking over your essay, tutors evaluate your writing skills, your ability to analyze, to assess, to compare and contrast, to express an opinion and to sound persuasive and affirmative. As you can see, there are a lot of important factors that influence the grade the tutor gives to you for your written assignment. There are a lot of types of written assignments and as a good student you are supposed to know how to write them all.
One of the hardest essays to complete is a compare and contrast essay. From the first sight it may seem that it is very easy to compare and contrast things but this really depends on what things are you comparing and contrasting. It takes time to compare material objects like buildings or monuments; imagine how time-taking the process of comparison of philosophical currents is. It is very important to choose objects or events that can be put under the same category at least in one feature out of the others. It is impossible to compare orange juice and rocky mountain, isn’t it? But these are simple material matters that can be easily defined. What to do if you are given a number of matters that seem irrelevant in all the characteristics known to you? That means that you have to do a little research and evaluation. It will be a good thing to make a chart putting the things you want to compare and contrast on the top and the characteristic features aside. This way you have a possibility to see in which way they are similar and how they are different. After the evaluation process you may start actual essay writing. At the beginning you may also do a little research on possible essay formats, styles and structures, unless the requirements are set by the tutor. This really matters, for you have to show that you are intelligent, educated, well acknowledged in the subject, literate, creative, have ability to evaluate and to analyze and what is the most important, you are a unique individual with own point of view.
What sin also very important about essay writing is proofreading and editing. You may of course be exhausted by writing process and miss some mistakes, so it is better to postpone the proofreading process to times when you feel good and can attentively and step by step go over your creation and make some necessary corrections. After you are satisfied with what you have written you may submit your project and you may be sure that the result is quite possible.
Studying process involves a lot of written assignments that are usually the deciding points of any course grade. They may be difficult and time-taking but the results you get afterwards are essential both in your academic life and in your future profession regardless the field. Looking over your essay, tutors evaluate your writing skills, your ability to analyze, to assess, to compare and contrast, to express an opinion and to sound persuasive and affirmative. As you can see, there are a lot of important factors that influence the grade the tutor gives to you for your written assignment. There are a lot of types of written assignments and as a good student you are supposed to know how to write them all.
One of the hardest essays to complete is a compare and contrast essay. From the first sight it may seem that it is very easy to compare and contrast things but this really depends on what things are you comparing and contrasting. It takes time to compare material objects like buildings or monuments; imagine how time-taking the process of comparison of philosophical currents is. It is very important to choose objects or events that can be put under the same category at least in one feature out of the others. It is impossible to compare orange juice and rocky mountain, isn’t it? But these are simple material matters that can be easily defined. What to do if you are given a number of matters that seem irrelevant in all the characteristics known to you? That means that you have to do a little research and evaluation. It will be a good thing to make a chart putting the things you want to compare and contrast on the top and the characteristic features aside. This way you have a possibility to see in which way they are similar and how they are different. After the evaluation process you may start actual essay writing. At the beginning you may also do a little research on possible essay formats, styles and structures, unless the requirements are set by the tutor. This really matters, for you have to show that you are intelligent, educated, well acknowledged in the subject, literate, creative, have ability to evaluate and to analyze and what is the most important, you are a unique individual with own point of view.
What sin also very important about essay writing is proofreading and editing. You may of course be exhausted by writing process and miss some mistakes, so it is better to postpone the proofreading process to times when you feel good and can attentively and step by step go over your creation and make some necessary corrections. After you are satisfied with what you have written you may submit your project and you may be sure that the result is quite possible.
Did Shakespeare write Shakespeare? Many people doubt that, for various reasons&ndashthe most obvious one being that a barely literate actor from the sleepy village of Stratford-on-Avon could not possibly have written with such accuracy and familiarity the many scenes in the plays that invoke the classics or the pomp of nobility and royal courts. Furthermore, no manuscripts by Shakespeare were ever found, and only six Shakespeare signatures are known to exist. The signatures all look different and give the impression they were written by a man who was not used to holding a pen. Some speculate that others’ hands may have guided his own as he wrote them.
If someone other than William Shakespeare wrote the plays and poems published under his name, who was it? And did this secret author insert clues as to his real identity in his works? These are two separate questions, and one does not necessarily imply the other. Various bright Elizabethans have been championed as the true author simply based on their literary abilities, their fitting educational and social background, and plausible motives for wanting to conceal their authorship&ndashamong them Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford; Roger Manners, Earl of Rutland; William Stanley, Earl of Derby; and Sir Francis Bacon.
In the last few centuries, quite a few people in the old and the new world alike have undertaken the search for hidden messages in Shakespeare’s works that would prove such authorship. Anagrams, acrostics, word ciphers, string ciphers, letter ciphers, they’ve all been found. But are they all for real?
Anyone interested in the various ciphers said to have been found in Shakespeare’s works should read The Shakespearean Ciphers Examined by William and Elizebeth Friedman. This thoroughly researched book from 1957 is out of print but copies can be found in libraries or on the Internet. Mr. Friedman, a professional cryptologist who helped decode the tantalizing Enigma ciphers employed by the Nazis during World War II, has been called one of America’s foremost cryptographers.
The Friedmans investigated dozens of ciphers allegedly discovered in the works of Shakespeare and analyzed them according to professional criteria of what constitutes a valid cipher. It’s fair to say that in the process, little of the various cipher claims was left standing. One of the better-known efforts they showed to be unsound was that by Ignatius Donnelly. Donnelly, an attorney and politician, published The Great Cryptogram in the late 1880s. He revealed an elaborate and very impressive mathematical system of “root numbers,” “multipliers” and “modifiers” that produced messages such as “…that More low [Marlowe] or Shak’st spur [Shakespeare] never writ a word of them.” The numerical sequence to identify the word “More” on that particular given page ran like this: [root number] 516-16=349-22b&h=327-254=73-15b&h=58. 448-58=390+1=391.
However impressive Donnelly’s mathematical sequences, some who tried to reproduce his efforts came up with startling results. The Friedmans cite a Rev. A. Nicholson who took the same text passages that Donnelly started from and, beginning with the same root number and employing the same intricate method, came up with a message of his own: “Master Will I am [William] Shak’st spurre [Shakespeare] writ the play and was engaged at the Curtain.” Thus, the subjective nature of the system rendered it invalid.
The Friedmans dedicate a large portion of their book to the bi-literal cipher discovered by Mrs. Elizabeth Gallup Wells, who believed that Francis Bacon was the true author of Shakespeare’s oeuvre. This part of the book is especially fascinating because the Friedmans themselves worked for Mrs. Gallup for several years. Once Mrs. Gallup’s decoding work gained notoriety, she attracted a benefactor, Colonel Fabian, who then employed a large research staff working on decoding the various texts. Elizebeth Friedman joined the team in 1915, William followed in 1916. They remained with her almost uninterruptedly until 1920.
Mrs. Gallup started out on solid ground, since she worked with the bi-literal cipher invented by Francis Bacon himself. Bacon published this cipher in October of 1623, just a month before the First Folio of Shakespeare’s complete works appeared. The bi-literal cipher is based on mixing two type fonts that are different enough to be distinguishable yet not too different to draw general attention. The First Folio is set in a curious mixture of italics and roman type styles, which quite naturally led to the suspicion that it may be hiding Bacon’s bi-literal cipher.
Mrs. Gallup believed, somewhat arbitrarily, that the cipher was embedded in the italic words in the plays, and deciphered lengthy passages that revealed Bacon’s authorship as well as his hidden life story. Once the Friedmans became involved in this work, they gradually came to the realization that Mrs. Gallup was the only one at the research center who could distinguish between the two fonts and produce meaningful messages. Everyone else invariably failed. Furthermore, Mrs. Gallup herself was unable to reproduce passages she had previously deciphered without considerable deviations. She also frequently omitted or added letters to make the cipher work. An FBI expert consulted by the Friedmans in the 1950s proved that there was much variation between individual italic letters in the Folio and that there were no characteristics that supported the strict classification into two fonts.
Since Mrs. Gallup’s work could not be reproduced independently by other decipherers, the Friedmans concluded that although Bacon’s bi-lateral cipher itself is a sound cipher, Gallup’s work was biased and unacceptable. That is not to say there couldn’t be a bi-literal cipher hidden in Shakespeare’s works; it only means that if there is one, it hasn’t been found yet.
References
Bacon, Francis &ndashDe Augmentis Scientiarum (1623)
Donnelly, Ignatius, The Great Cryptogram (1888)
Friedman, William F. and Elizebeth S., The Shakespearean Ciphers Examined. (Cambridge University Press, 1957)
Wells Gallup, Elizabeth &ndash The Biliteral Cypher of Sir Francis Bacon Discovered in His Works and Deciphered by Mrs. Elizabeth Wells Gallup (1899)
See William Stevenson, A Man Called Intrepid.
Did Shakespeare write Shakespeare? Many people doubt that, for various reasons&ndashthe most obvious one being that a barely literate actor from the sleepy village of Stratford-on-Avon could not possibly have written with such accuracy and familiarity the many scenes in the plays that invoke the classics or the pomp of nobility and royal courts. Furthermore, no manuscripts by Shakespeare were ever found, and only six Shakespeare signatures are known to exist. The signatures all look different and give the impression they were written by a man who was not used to holding a pen. Some speculate that others’ hands may have guided his own as he wrote them.
If someone other than William Shakespeare wrote the plays and poems published under his name, who was it? And did this secret author insert clues as to his real identity in his works? These are two separate questions, and one does not necessarily imply the other. Various bright Elizabethans have been championed as the true author simply based on their literary abilities, their fitting educational and social background, and plausible motives for wanting to conceal their authorship&ndashamong them Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford; Roger Manners, Earl of Rutland; William Stanley, Earl of Derby; and Sir Francis Bacon.
In the last few centuries, quite a few people in the old and the new world alike have undertaken the search for hidden messages in Shakespeare’s works that would prove such authorship. Anagrams, acrostics, word ciphers, string ciphers, letter ciphers, they’ve all been found. But are they all for real?
Anyone interested in the various ciphers said to have been found in Shakespeare’s works should read The Shakespearean Ciphers Examined by William and Elizebeth Friedman. This thoroughly researched book from 1957 is out of print but copies can be found in libraries or on the Internet. Mr. Friedman, a professional cryptologist who helped decode the tantalizing Enigma ciphers employed by the Nazis during World War II, has been called one of America’s foremost cryptographers.
The Friedmans investigated dozens of ciphers allegedly discovered in the works of Shakespeare and analyzed them according to professional criteria of what constitutes a valid cipher. It’s fair to say that in the process, little of the various cipher claims was left standing. One of the better-known efforts they showed to be unsound was that by Ignatius Donnelly. Donnelly, an attorney and politician, published The Great Cryptogram in the late 1880s. He revealed an elaborate and very impressive mathematical system of “root numbers,” “multipliers” and “modifiers” that produced messages such as “…that More low [Marlowe] or Shak’st spur [Shakespeare] never writ a word of them.” The numerical sequence to identify the word “More” on that particular given page ran like this: [root number] 516-16=349-22b&h=327-254=73-15b&h=58. 448-58=390+1=391.
However impressive Donnelly’s mathematical sequences, some who tried to reproduce his efforts came up with startling results. The Friedmans cite a Rev. A. Nicholson who took the same text passages that Donnelly started from and, beginning with the same root number and employing the same intricate method, came up with a message of his own: “Master Will I am [William] Shak’st spurre [Shakespeare] writ the play and was engaged at the Curtain.” Thus, the subjective nature of the system rendered it invalid.
The Friedmans dedicate a large portion of their book to the bi-literal cipher discovered by Mrs. Elizabeth Gallup Wells, who believed that Francis Bacon was the true author of Shakespeare’s oeuvre. This part of the book is especially fascinating because the Friedmans themselves worked for Mrs. Gallup for several years. Once Mrs. Gallup’s decoding work gained notoriety, she attracted a benefactor, Colonel Fabian, who then employed a large research staff working on decoding the various texts. Elizebeth Friedman joined the team in 1915, William followed in 1916. They remained with her almost uninterruptedly until 1920.
Mrs. Gallup started out on solid ground, since she worked with the bi-literal cipher invented by Francis Bacon himself. Bacon published this cipher in October of 1623, just a month before the First Folio of Shakespeare’s complete works appeared. The bi-literal cipher is based on mixing two type fonts that are different enough to be distinguishable yet not too different to draw general attention. The First Folio is set in a curious mixture of italics and roman type styles, which quite naturally led to the suspicion that it may be hiding Bacon’s bi-literal cipher.
Mrs. Gallup believed, somewhat arbitrarily, that the cipher was embedded in the italic words in the plays, and deciphered lengthy passages that revealed Bacon’s authorship as well as his hidden life story. Once the Friedmans became involved in this work, they gradually came to the realization that Mrs. Gallup was the only one at the research center who could distinguish between the two fonts and produce meaningful messages. Everyone else invariably failed. Furthermore, Mrs. Gallup herself was unable to reproduce passages she had previously deciphered without considerable deviations. She also frequently omitted or added letters to make the cipher work. An FBI expert consulted by the Friedmans in the 1950s proved that there was much variation between individual italic letters in the Folio and that there were no characteristics that supported the strict classification into two fonts.
Since Mrs. Gallup’s work could not be reproduced independently by other decipherers, the Friedmans concluded that although Bacon’s bi-lateral cipher itself is a sound cipher, Gallup’s work was biased and unacceptable. That is not to say there couldn’t be a bi-literal cipher hidden in Shakespeare’s works; it only means that if there is one, it hasn’t been found yet.
References
Bacon, Francis &ndashDe Augmentis Scientiarum (1623)
Donnelly, Ignatius, The Great Cryptogram (1888)
Friedman, William F. and Elizebeth S., The Shakespearean Ciphers Examined. (Cambridge University Press, 1957)
Wells Gallup, Elizabeth &ndash The Biliteral Cypher of Sir Francis Bacon Discovered in His Works and Deciphered by Mrs. Elizabeth Wells Gallup (1899)
See William Stevenson, A Man Called Intrepid.
Hopefully, when you want short story ideas, you don’t sit there waiting for inspiration. It’s better to write anything, and do it right now. English writer Graham Green attributes much of his success to a simple habit: He forced himself to write at least 500 words daily, whether he felt like it or not. Perhaps creative inspiration can strike at any time, but it strikes more often when there is work instead of waiting.
What do you write though? Here are a couple new ideas for generating new short story ideas.
Explain This
I once created a car travel game called “Explain This.” Someone suggests an unusual scenario in a sentence or two, and then each player explains it in a plausible way. It’s an entertaining way to pass the miles, but also a great way to come up with short story ideas.
Just start with an odd scene, anything that pops into your head. You might start, for example, with “Todd handed out the dollar bills to the people as they walked by, trying to distribute as many as he could quickly, before the police could stop him.” Now explain that. Our minds insist on explaining things, so you’ll find an explanation if you try. If it’s interesting enough, you have your next short story.
As I look at the scene in my mind, I imagine the dollar bills are signed or otherwise identifiable, and they can be traded at a big seminar for a gift worth even more. A person could spend it and get a soda - or get something truly valuable for it. Maybe this will go in the marketing ideas file instead of the short story ideas file.
Maybe Todd is handing out the last of his money as per the instructions of his spiritual leader. Could it be a “get rich quick” cult that requires all members to start from zero? A religious movement based on getting rich? Someone could make it into a plausible story.
Short Story Ideas From Combining Stories
Here’s a fun technique that is hopefully useful, but is at least worth a few laughs. Just combine old stories into new ones. The less similar the stories you start with, the better. The story of Adam and Eve combined with “I Robot,” for example, could lead to an interesting new story. Maybe a pair of robots start a new world. “Original sin” might be the arising of their own consciousness, or their rejection of man as their master.
Hmm… “The Miracle Worker” and “Gorillas In The Mist?” Struggles of an ape that learns at last to speak and be independent? “Star Wars” and “Cool Hand Luke?” The story of a man who livens up the deathly atmosphere of a penal colony in space? “Frankenstein” and “Gone With The Wind?” The possibilities are endless. Start cranking out those new short story ideas.
Hopefully, when you want short story ideas, you don’t sit there waiting for inspiration. It’s better to write anything, and do it right now. English writer Graham Green attributes much of his success to a simple habit: He forced himself to write at least 500 words daily, whether he felt like it or not. Perhaps creative inspiration can strike at any time, but it strikes more often when there is work instead of waiting.
What do you write though? Here are a couple new ideas for generating new short story ideas.
Explain This
I once created a car travel game called “Explain This.” Someone suggests an unusual scenario in a sentence or two, and then each player explains it in a plausible way. It’s an entertaining way to pass the miles, but also a great way to come up with short story ideas.
Just start with an odd scene, anything that pops into your head. You might start, for example, with “Todd handed out the dollar bills to the people as they walked by, trying to distribute as many as he could quickly, before the police could stop him.” Now explain that. Our minds insist on explaining things, so you’ll find an explanation if you try. If it’s interesting enough, you have your next short story.
As I look at the scene in my mind, I imagine the dollar bills are signed or otherwise identifiable, and they can be traded at a big seminar for a gift worth even more. A person could spend it and get a soda - or get something truly valuable for it. Maybe this will go in the marketing ideas file instead of the short story ideas file.
Maybe Todd is handing out the last of his money as per the instructions of his spiritual leader. Could it be a “get rich quick” cult that requires all members to start from zero? A religious movement based on getting rich? Someone could make it into a plausible story.
Short Story Ideas From Combining Stories
Here’s a fun technique that is hopefully useful, but is at least worth a few laughs. Just combine old stories into new ones. The less similar the stories you start with, the better. The story of Adam and Eve combined with “I Robot,” for example, could lead to an interesting new story. Maybe a pair of robots start a new world. “Original sin” might be the arising of their own consciousness, or their rejection of man as their master.
Hmm… “The Miracle Worker” and “Gorillas In The Mist?” Struggles of an ape that learns at last to speak and be independent? “Star Wars” and “Cool Hand Luke?” The story of a man who livens up the deathly atmosphere of a penal colony in space? “Frankenstein” and “Gone With The Wind?” The possibilities are endless. Start cranking out those new short story ideas.